Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-08-19
FRIDAY, AUG UST 10, 1881.
Something About Punctilt0s OF
international intercourse.

Something About Punctilios of
international intercourse.
Queen Victoria's acknowledgment
of President Cleveland's jubilee con-
CALCULATIONS, though tardy, was con-
ceived in graceful spirit. The in
tercourse of crowned head with the
President of a Republic is somewhat
embarrassing. In addressing fellow
sovereign the Queen of England
would have begun, "My Brother" or
"My Dear Brother" according TO the
closeness of the relations which had
existed between them, and she would
have wound up her communication by
the immemorial formula, 81 pray
God, my dear brother, to have you IN
His holy keeping" When it comes
to addressing the chief of the many
soyereigns who flourish in the United
States it requires some tact to adopt
the precise formula adapted to the oc-
casion. The first incident of the kind
which the writer recollects was on the
occasion of the first laying of the first
Atlantic cable. That event was sig
nalized by the. interchange of mes
sages of congratulation between Presi-
dent Buchanan and Queen Victoria,
and, by the way, the event oc-
CURED nearly thirty years ago.
Then Victoria used precisely the
formula, My Good Friend, !"
which she adopted in the case of Pres
ident Cleveland. AS Mr.. Buchanan
had been Minister Plenipotentlary and
Envoy Extraordinary to the Court OF
st. James, this expression was re-
garded by many as arising out of the
pleasant official intercourse which had
subsisted between them for a period of
four years. 1t is generally conceded
that Mr.. Buchanan made a pleasanter
social impression upon the British
people than any American minister
who had preceded or who has sue
ceeded him, for that matter, and to
this result the exceptional beauty and
social graces of his niece, Miss Harriet
lane, we're supposed to have materi-
ally contributed. But the phrase
which we are discussing seems to have
been deliberately adopted, as the later
event proves, to cover the official in
terchange of courtesies between the
Queen of England and Empress OF
India, "Defender of the Faith" etc.,
and the uncrowned head of the Amer
lean Republic. Considered as a
phrase, it has its drawbacks, and it
perhaps has smack of the supercil-
ious. "My good friend" may often be
very patronizingly addressed by a
person who considers himself the So
cial superior of his interlocutor. In sar-
castle lips or "spoken sarcastical, !"
to employ the inimitable language Of
the late Artemas Ward-it might have
a very irritating SAVIOR. In her reply,
it will also be noticed, Queen Victoria,
instead of employing the formula,
"May God have you in His keeping"
simply commends the President ofthe
United States to the protection of the
Almighty. Any one disposed to be
hypercritical would notice this distinc-
tion as conveying the idea that it is
scarcely worth the while of the AL
mighty to be engaged in the office of
keeping" Presidents. All of which
brings us back to the extreme wisdom
of the trainers of the Constitution of
the United States, who rejected any
thing like title for their Chief Mag
istrate. In this connection it would
be well to impress even upon Ameri-
cans the fact that the highest form of
politeness in addressing the first citi-
zen of the Republic is simply to call
him, in speaking or writing, Mr. Pres.
ident. And thereby hangs tale. At
the outbreak of the war Mr.. Seward,
in communicating with ex-Presi-
dent Pierce, addressed him sim
ply as Franklin Pierce, Con-
cord, New Hampshire" The ex-Presi-
dent, naturally irritated at imputa-
tions on his loyalty, responded very
fartly to Mr.. Stewards letter missive;
and, while resenting the imputations
contained in the enclosures sent by
Mr.. Seward, took occasion to advert
to the brusqueness of the manner in
which he had been addressed. The
had Mr.. Seward dead on
the material question. but the facile
of State triumphed on the
matter of punctilio. He drew Mr..
Pierce's attention to the fact that
Daniel Webster, when Secretary of
State, invariably addressed ex-Presi-
dents by their legal name, dispensing
with prefixes and affixes, considering
hat this was really the more discrim-
mating and deferential way of direct
ng his communications TO them.
We beg lelve to suggest to Queen